Exodus 3
by Jimmy the Tulip
Summary: Follow-on to the Operation: Revival crossover series - Faced with annihilation the Homeworld Clans are forced to accept the unthinkable. Star Captain Greta Lankenau, refusing to leave her beleaguered Clansmen behind embarks on a suicide mission little-knowing that it will take her somewhere she never thought possible...
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

**Prologue**

 _ **From the personal journal of Greta Lankenau**_

 _ **Zenith Jump Point, Attenbrooks**_

 _ **Deep Periphery**_

 _ **12**_ _ **th**_ _ **August 3052**_

We all watched as the _CSR James McKenna_ , the last ship to appear at the rendezvous point, materialised. Of the Swift Wing Naval Assault Star, the _James McKenna_ and Aegis Class _White Terror_ were the only vessels to survive. Of the forty WarShips in the Snow Ravens touman, only twelve remained and the Ravens had fared the best in the Home Worlds War. The loss of the _CSR Snow Raven_ , flagship of the fleet, had occurred soon after the second expedition to Huntress and had been a heavy blow for the Clan.

No one knew exactly when the war began but it was abundantly clear that Huntress had been the first battlefield. In March the Smoke Jaguar capital had gone dark. The Jaguars had sent in the _Streaking Mist_ to investigate what had happened. Two days later, when no word had been received, a small task force of Jaguar ships and clusters had gone in to Huntress. They too had been lost.

Soon after this second incursion they came out of Huntress; tens of thousands of tiny shapes swarming across space. They had taken our knowledge of Jump Drive technology and done amazing things with it, creating themselves "gateways" through which they could jump hundreds of their own kind through at a time. They were unstoppable and within the first three weeks Ironhold, Atreus, Foster, Shadow and Lum had fallen. Then came the invasion of Strana Mechty, our sacred home among these far flung worlds. Founded by the Great Father himself, Strana Mechty had stood indomitable throughout all the years that the Clans had existed. The invaders took it in just six days.

The Battle for Strana Mechty had borne witness to cooperation among the Clans the like of which had not happened since Operation Klondike. Blood Spirit stood beside Burrock; Steel Viper stood beside Snow Raven. Strana Mechty saw some of the most brutal fighting ever to grace a Clan battlefield but, in the end, it was all for naught. The Clans lost their Land of Dreams and fell back in disarray. It was then that the bickering began with each Clan blaming another for the loss of their Capital. Many Trials of Grievance were fought and little realisation was forthcoming that we were simply weakening ourselves in the face of a greater foe. It was not until the next strike came that the stupidity stopped. What remained of the Cloud Cobra fleet was wiped out in that battle. The burning hulk of the _Inquisitor_ falling into Brim's atmosphere was at once a terrible and beautiful sight to behold.

With the loss of their entire fleet the Cloud Cobras had no escape from the Home Worlds. We do not know what has become of them but can only assume that they have all perished under the guns of the invaders. The Cobras were not the only Clan to fall before the final, fateful decision was made. The Blood Spirits and Fire Mandrills met similar fates and while the remaining Home Clans survived in some form we are all but mere shadows of what we once were. Combined, we make up perhaps just a little more than one Clan in its entirety would have, before the Fall.

Those Khans that had survived the onslaught, and there were not many, gathered in a Grand Kurultai to decide what action to take. Their decision was quick and unanimous; the Clans must abandon the Home Worlds. We could not stand against this enemy so instead, to preserve what little there was left, we would run. No Clan had ever run from a fight before and there were plenty of Clans-people that rallied against this decision. Those dissidents were left behind to their fate; to their death.

And so, among the Clan fleet, thirty seven ships in total, plans were made, paths were plotted and then the call went out.

Exodus.


	2. Chapter 2

_**York Class Destroyer CSR Corvidae**_

 _ **Zenith Jump Point, Attenbrooks**_

 _ **Deep Periphery**_

 _ **12**_ _ **th**_ _ **August 3052**_

Star Captain Greta Lankenau, commanding officer on board the _Corvidae_ , sat at the desk in her ready room adjacent to the bridge. Her brown hair was tied back in a tidy plait and her uniform, with its teal highlights, matched her blue eyes. Her face was lean, matching the rest of her frame, but was not unattractive even though the stresses of the last few weeks showed clearly in her expression. The dark bags under her eyes attested to a serious lack of sleep. Her desk was covered with reports, requisition forms and requests all demanding her attention but she simply sat staring at them like some epiphany was about to reveal itself in their multitude of pages. It never came.

Instead a chime from the door dragged her from her reverie.

"Door open," she intoned and the door to her room obediently slid silently into the bulkhead wall. Beyond it stood Otto, Greta's executive officer. Otto was tall and had a medium built frame. His blonde hair was trimmed short, as was his preference. He quickly took in the scene of Greta's office.

"Star Captain, I apologise for the interruption but we have received an HPG transmission from the Home Worlds. Your presence is requested on the bridge."

Greta immediately rose to her feet, thankful for the distraction from her desk. "Of course, Otto," she stated as she strode towards the door. Otto turned on his heel and they both walked over to the bridge's holotank.

Her second shift comms officer was already there preparing the message to play. "The signal was weak, Star Captain, as it was transmitted from the edge of Home Worlds. The image will be scratchy at best."

"I will receive this news however it looks. I trust you did your best," Greta responded.

The comms officer nodded and pushed the button to play the message. Within the holotank the shape of a man coalesced.

" _To whomever receives this message, I am Star Captain Verne, formerly of Clan Cloud Cobra. I must keep this short as we will soon return to the cluster to continue the fight. We are not many but we survive; on Albion, on Tokasha, on Strato Domingo and others. The enemy continues to gain ground but we have fought back and we have won some victories. The creatures, these Daleks, they are not invincible. We can defeat them but we need all the Clans to return. Bring your warriors and help us take the fight back to our mutual enemy. No one Clan remains in the Pentagon or cluster worlds, we are now united. This may seem strange but it was borne of necessity to survive. We are one; we are Clan. Come back to your brethren and take back what is ours."_

The already grainy and distorted image waivered and threatened to cut out entirely.

" _The Soc…..come you. They h…lan to def…rus."_

The image dropped away leaving the holotank dark and silent. Greta stood for a moment, lost in thought.

"What if we can save them? What if we can save the homes that our Great Father delivered us to? Do we not owe it to His memory to try?"

Otto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We should present a case before Khan McKenna, Star Captain."

"Yes, of course. The advance fleet is at Transfer Station P3. Message ahead and ask Khan McKenna for a meeting there. We will jump as soon as we are at full charge."

"Aye sir," Otto responded and immediately moved off towards the comm station.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Potemkin Class Cruiser CSR Eden Rose**_

 _ **Nadir Jump Point, Transfer Station P3**_

 _ **Deep Periphery**_

 _ **14**_ _ **th**_ _ **August 3052**_

Of the two figures standing awaiting Greta's entrance, it was the second which made her nervous. She had known Star Admiral Asif Cole for a number of years now as he commanded the former Lum garrison fleet of which her ship had been a part. The imposing figure of Khan Lynn McKenna was a different story.

Star Admiral Cole greeted Greta as she entered and indicated a seat for her to take. Khan McKenna took a seat at the briefing room table directly opposite wearing a concerned look on her face. She opened the dialogue.

"We will make a start," she stated as Asif took a seat beside her. "Star Captain, we received your relayed message with some interest but, frankly, it was your request that has me concerned. Why would you want to return to the Home Worlds knowing that death likely awaits you?"

Greta inwardly calmed herself as she formulated her reply.

"Khan McKenna, the message we received proves that there are survivors in the Home Worlds. They have not yet fallen. This Star Captain Verne stated that the fight goes on and that they have won some victories. I feel it is our duty to go back and support our Clansmen. We may yet tip the balance."

"You may not."

Greta bowed her head for a moment. "You are right, my Khan. It may be a fool's errand that leads to my death…"

"And that of your entire crew." McKenna interrupted.

"Yes, my Khan, and my crew, but is that any reason to abandon fellow warriors in their hour of need? We are all Clan, regardless of which Clan we serve. In our history we have only ever truly been united once, during Operation Klondike and the retaking of the Pentagon Worlds against a common foe. Now we have that chance again, to stand shoulder to shoulder against an enemy who would see our way of life destroyed and to fight to keep the Way of the Clans alive. My crew know where this course of action could lead and they are all prepared to accept their fate if it means we could save the worlds that Aleksandr Kerensky found for us."

Greta realised her voice was rising so paused to calm herself. In that moment her Khan once again spoke.

"You can certainly deliver an impassioned speech, Star Captain Lankenau. Bargained well and done. If you survive your upcoming ordeal you may make a good Khan one day." Lynn McKenna smiled.

"Thank you, my Khan," Greta bowed her head briefly then raised it with a surprised look on her face as the reality sank in. "Upcoming ordeal…"

Lynn McKenna rose from her seat. "You may take the _Corvidae_ and all she carries, two Trinaries I believe, and return to the Home Worlds. You have my authority to do whatever is necessary to bring our enemy down, if that is possible, but if the situation appears irreversible… if our Home Worlds are indeed lost to us… you will make best speed to re-join the exodus fleet. Is that understood?"

Greta rose and saluted her Khan. "Aff, Khan McKenna. I vow it on my Bloodname."

McKenna nodded, satisfied with her Star Captain's answer. "Then you are dismissed. Make whatever preparations you need and depart as soon as you and your crew are ready."


	4. Chapter 4

_**York Class Destroyer CSR Corvidae**_

 _ **High orbit, Alexandra**_

 _ **Tanite Worlds**_

 _ **19**_ _ **th**_ _ **September 3052**_

It look as though the entire planet was on fire.

Whatever the Daleks had found on this world, they hadn't liked it. The scorched earth tactics that had been used to lay waste to Alexandra were on a scale never seen in humanity's history. Greta could only stare in morbid fascination as the _Corvidae_ sailed silently above the devastated world.

"Star Captain?" It was her navigation officer, a woman by the name of Deirdre.

"Report." Though her voice was low the order was heard by every person on the bridge.

"Sir, our sensors have picked up a large magnetic anomaly on the far side of Alexandra's moon. Warbook estimates suggest it could be a _Union_ dropship."

That peaked Greta's interest. "Helm, lay in a course. If there are survivors I want to pick them up."

"Aye, Sir," came the immediate response from her helmsman.

The _Corvidae's_ thrusters burned a fierce white as it broke orbit and pushed away towards the moon.

The twenty hour journey to Alexandra's moon seemed like an interminable wait to Greta. Not only did the hours pass frustratingly slow but the tension of being constantly alert for Dalek activity had everyone's nerves a bit frayed.

The _Corvidae_ eventually made orbit, however, and a team was immediately assembled to drop down to the moon's surface and investigate the Clan dropship. There were only minimal power signs coming from the Union, barely enough to provide life support, but if there was a chance that survivors were still on board then the effort had to be expended to rescue them. There was no IFF signal emanating from the ship so its identity remained a mystery.

A star of Elementals boarded a drop shuttle and, within minutes, they had left the _Corvidae_ and were headed to the surface of the moon. Within forty minutes they had touched down just five hundred meters from the Union. The Elementals quickly disembarked into the low gravity and began their bouncing trek across the rocky landscape to the vessel.

" _Point Commander Ashton reporting. We are approaching the ship. I verify it is a Union and I can make out Cloud Cobra markings. There is significant battle damage so I am unable to discern a name. We are moving in for closer examination._ "

On the bridge of the _Corvidae_ the Comms officer responded.

"Aff, Point Commander. Proceed with caution."

A few minutes passed which seemed to last an eternity before the Comms connection crackled to life once more.

" _Ashton to Corvidae. We are entering a breach in the outer hull. There is severe structural damage, the like of which suggests a crash landing. All power to lighting and control systems appears to be down. I am dividing my star into two groups. Two points will make their way to the bridge while the remaining two points and I will head to engineering. Beta group; move out and look for survivors._ "

" _Aff, Point Commander,_ " came the Elementals gruff reply.

More minutes ticked by with only intermittent reports of power loss and damage. The majority of the damage appeared to be from the impact onto the moon's surface. What battle damage there was seemed to be from powerful small arms fire. Holes had been blown or burned through bulkheads and doors and, in some cases, had gone straight through the thick outer shell of the ship's hull.

Beta group was the first to report bodies. Not far from the bridge it appeared that a major fire fight had taken place. The bodies of several Cloud Cobra crewmen lay strewn around the burned and broken shell of a single Dalek. The walls were holed and charred and, in some places, slightly melted with the extreme heat that the energy fire must have generated.

" _Are you seeing this, Point Commander?_ "

" _Aff. Check for signs of life. If none proceed on to the bridge_ ," came Ashton's reply.

A quick check revealed no survivors and so the pair of Elementals moved on. After the laborious climb through the wrecked hulk of the ship, the short walk to the bridge was quite a relief. The sight that greeted them, however, shook them to the core.

The bridge was barely recognisable. Smashed and exploded consoles lay strewn in pieces across the floor. The small holo-tank was a twisted ruin and bodies, some clad in Elemental armour, were everywhere. Another Dalek, again broken and lifeless, squatted in the middle of the bridge. A thick greenish grey sludge oozed down its armoured sides.

The Raven Elementals searched but quickly realised that no one had survived.

" _Point Commander, the bridge is clear. There are no survivors._ "

Ashton's group had just about made it to the doors of the engineering bay when the final bridge report came in.

" _Understood. Make your way back down and check the Mech bays. There might be some salvageable equipment._ "

The acknowledgement came back and Ashton proceeded to lead his team to the engine section. As they approached the last hurdle, a heavy blast proof door one of the Elementals with him, Brouge, stepped forward.

"Point Commander, permit me the honour of preceding you through the door?"

Ashton paused for a second. He knew that Brouge's request was born of wanting to protect his commanding officer from whatever may be behind the door, not from wanting to take any glory for himself. He was that kind of warrior, loyal to the point of death. To deny him would be worse, in Brouge's eyes, than death itself.

"Permission granted, Brouge. You may take point." Ashton could imagine the smile on Brouge's face as he spoke the words.

Ashton gripped the emergency door release handle set into the wall with one large battle claw and, with minimal effort, pulled it down. The door cracked open and a hiss of escaping air and smoke exited from the gap. Ashton hoped that any survivors within had suits on.

Melli, the third Elemental in Ashton's group grabbed the door with her suits battle claw and pulled it back, sliding, into the wall. Brouge stepped into the large room, ready to open fire. As the smoke that had collected in the room began to clear Brouge stepped further into the room, closely followed by Melli and Ashton. A scene of devastation revealed itself before them.

Two engineering technicians lay crumpled against the wall near a large hole that had been blown into bulkhead. Harjel had quickly sealed over the hole but not before, presumably, sucking the remaining engineering team out into space. One of those unlucky Clansmen had been trapped in the harjel which had sealed over him. His silent scream trapped on his face as he had suffocated in the hardening fluid.

The cause of the hole quickly became apparent. A low gurgling sound drew their attention to the shattered form of a Dalek that had embedded itself into the protective wall separating the engineering room from the reactors that powered the ships drive engines.

The gold casing of the Dalek had hit the wall with such force that its entire front had crumpled into and partially through the wall. It had, presumably, turned its vulnerable eyestalk away before the impact as it was now swivelling around to stare at the trio of battle armoured warriors.

" _You. Are. An. Enemy. Of. The. Daleks,_ " its voice was slow and slurred and, from within its cracked casing a greenish grey sludge flowed slowly out.

"Hold your fire," Ashton commanded as Brouge raised the powerful laser that made up the battle armour's right arm. Then he turned to the Dalek. "Aff, we are your enemy and we will destroy all of you."

The Daleks eyestalk turned with a laboured whine to look at Ashton. " _You. Cannot. Defeat. Us,_ " it intoned before coughing a little. As it did even more of the sludge bubbled out from under the creatures domed head. " _This. Virus. Will. Not. Succeed! We. Will. Adapt!_ "

Ashton paused, confused. "Virus? What virus? We do not use viral warfare. It is dishonourable!"

The Dalek emitted what sounded like a gurgling chuckle. " _Daleks. Do. Not. Care. About. Your. Clan. Honour,_ " it swung its eyestalk across all three of the Elementals. " _Victory. Is. All. That. Matters._ "

"You will never see victory. This ship will be your tomb."

" _Irrelevant,_ " came the strained reply. " _I. Have. Already. Initiated. Self. Destruct. Sequence._ " It looked at Ashton for the last time. " _We. Will. All. Die. Here._ "

Ashton immediately sprang into action. "All points, emergency evacuation! Get out now!"

Brouge and Melli immediately opened fire on the harjelled section of wall, blasting holes through it large enough for them to escape and, in the process, vaporising the poor soul trapped within it. The three Elementals sprinted for the hole and leapt through, running and jetting through the ship the fastest way possible; through the entry hole that the Dalek made.

They neared the outer hull just as an explosion shook the entire vessel and a ball of super-heated flame blossomed upwards, devouring the Dropship as it came. Ashton and Melli fired their jump jets first, rocketing out of the stricken ship to the relative safety of the airless moon beyond. Brouge fired his jets just a moment too late. As his battle armoured suit flew forth the blast caught him, propelling him outwards at a terrifying rate and consuming the lower half of his suit and body.

As the shockwave caught up with Ashton and Melli it tossed them through the thin lunar air like rag dolls. Chunks of broken dropship flew outward with barely any resistance from the micro-thin atmosphere and low gravity. Pieces of metal sailed for kilometres, some hitting the drop shuttle with devastating results.

Ashton and Melli slammed into the ground with bone jarring impacts. Melli's right arm was ripped off as she bounced against a large jutted spur of rock. Her scream of pain pierced through the speakers in Ashton's suit. Harjel quickly sealed the gaping hole in her armour where her right arm had been just moments before and, as she came to rest on the lunar soil Melli lay very still. Her battle suit pumped anaesthetic into her body to dull the pain.

Ashton fared a little better though his trajectory brought him down awkwardly on his right leg. He heard a distinct snap and felt the searing pain as his tibia fractured in multiple places. As with Melli, his suit immediately injected anaesthetic to counter-act the pain and immobilised the actuators in the suits right leg to prevent further damage.

After coming to rest and recovering from the shock of his injury Ashton crawled, foggy headed, to where Melli had landed. He lifted her slightly, which elicited a moan of pain from the half conscious woman, and rested the head of her suit on his good left leg. From his position he could just make out the smoking wreck of their drop shuttle. Of the Cloud Cobra dropship there was no sign.

"Do not worry, Melli. They will come for us." He wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure her or himself.

Looking upwards he could just make out the form of the _Corvidae_ , far above them. He looked back down as Melli moaned in pain, or shock… or perhaps both, at her injury.

When he looked back up the _Corvidae_ had gone.


	5. Chapter 5

_**York Class Destroyer CSR Corvidae**_

 _ **Low orbit, Alexandra's Moon**_

 _ **Tanite Worlds**_

 _ **20**_ _ **th**_ _ **September 3052**_

Star Captain Greta Lankenau sat in her command chair on the bridge of the _Corvidae_ , intently watching one of the sensor screens which showed the drop shuttle touching down on the moon's surface and the star of Elementals begin their walk to the dropship. The feed in the holotank showed a three dimensional representation of the five Elementals until they entered the ship, then it cut to the live feed from Point Commander Ashton's suit.

The feed from the surface took approximately ten seconds to reach the _Corvidae_. As such, communication to the away team would be too delayed to be useful so Greta had opted to disable the audio connection. She sat, frustratingly powerless, watching Ashton descend into the bowels of the crashed dropship.

"Sir! We have a minor hull breach on level 14, section 7C!" Within a second the bridge was a live with activity.

"Get a star of marines down there now! Do you have a damage assessment, comms?" Greta barked.

"Neg, Star Captain. Harjel has deployed and sealed the hole but it will be a few minutes before a team will be on site."

"Stravag! Red alert! Have all teams sweep the ship for an intruder. If we have one of those things on board I want it dealt with!"

A security team was at the breach less than two minutes after the order was given. Greta made a mental note to commend the Point Commander for his swift reaction. The view screen in the holodeck crackled as the feed was switched from the crashed ship to the responding Point Commander.

"Report," ordered Greta.

"Point Commander Yula, Sir. Something has burned through the hull. There is no secondary damage so we must assume we have an intruder on board."

"Acknowledged, Yula. That point of entry cannot be a coincidence, I believe it is heading to the jump core." Greta opened up a security channel to all teams on board the Corvidae. "We have an intruder on board and must assume it is a Dalek. All teams sweep the ship, converging on jump core maintenance station omicron. Protect the core at all cost."

A series of affirmations came back as the Corvidae's teams of Elementals began their search. Yula's team was the closest to the maintenance station so Greta switched to speak directly to her.

"Point Commander Yula, you are closest to omicron. Head straight there and keep your active feed on."

"Aff, Star Captain."

Yula and her star raced down the ships corridors towards the maintenance station. As she approached the first thing she noticed was the absence of a door into the station. She held up one battle clawed hand for caution and the five Elementals proceeded into the room slowly, weapons ready.

The Dalek was there. It had come to rest in front of one of the power transfer stations. These were used to manage the flow of the core's energy during jump procedures. They were automated stations but did have controls for manual override of the computer controlled relays. The Dalek appeared to have plugged itself into the console.

"It is here, Star Captain, but we cannot open fire as we may damage the omicron power relay. How should we proceed?"

Before Greta could respond the Dalek swivelled its head around to observe the Elemental star.

" _Do not fire or I will destroy this vessel,_ " the creature intoned.

Yula once again addressed Greta. "I need orders, Star Captain. I am unsure how to proceed."

Greta thought for a moment. "Why has it not destroyed us already? It wants something and if it wants something we have then we have an advantage."

"Star Captain," one of the bridge crew interrupted, "we are getting unusual power fluctuations from the jump core. It looks like energy is being channelled into the omicron power relay."

"Yula, move in! Get that thing away from the power relay station!"

Three of Yula's team charged forward and grabbed the Dalek with their battle claws. The giant manipulators only lightly scored the tough armour of the Daleks casing as they tried to pull it back.

" _Alert! Alert! I am under attack! All Daleks converge now. Engaging emergency temporal shift!_ "

This time the bridge's tactical officer interjected. "Star Captain, we have a large contact on the sensors. They are Daleks, Sir! Hundreds of them coming out of the moon!"

Greta leaped to her feet. "Damn it! All batteries open fire!"

The guns of the _Corvidae_ opened up and filled the space between the ship and its enemies with metal and light. Daleks crumpled and exploded by the dozen as naval grade weapons blasted through the tightly packed group, but more came on spewing out of whatever base they had constructed inside Alexandra's moon.

"Sir!" Tactical shouted.

 _Oh God, what now?_ Thought Greta but outwardly maintained her composure.

"There has been an explosion on the lunar surface! The Cobra dropship went critical… it's gone!"

"Control your speech, Tactical!" Greta reprimanded. _What the hell was going on?_

She turned to the view screen where Yula's team was still wrestling with the Dalek. The screeching sound of their claws on its metal hide was appalling. Over the din she heard the Dalek speak once more.

" _Emergency temporal shift engaged!_ "

Then Greta's world exploded into a sea of blinding colour.


	6. Chapter 6

_**York Class Destroyer CSR Corvidae**_

 _ **Low orbit, Alexandra's Moon**_

 _ **Tanite Worlds**_

Darkness.

It was complete and it was silent.

Then there was the slightest sliver of light and muted sounds began to assault her ears.

Greta opened her eyes and her blurred vision slowly swam back into focus. The emergency lighting was on so the bridge was shrouded in a soft light that left shadows everywhere. She pushed off the floor with her hands and slowly rose to a sitting position. Her head pounded like no other headache she had experienced before.

The emergency klaxon was blaring and she quickly barked at someone, anyone, to turn it off. In the sudden silence that followed she was able to compose herself and slowly, gingerly, rise to her feet.

"All stations report," she commanded.

Slowly her bridge officers reasserted themselves.

"Ops reporting. Sensor systems are optimal. Life support and grav deck systems are operating within normal parameters."

"Navigation reporting. Jump core is offline, Sir. I am running a stellar location routine to ascertain our position."

"Thank you, Deirdre," Greta responded. "Tactical?"

"Here, Sir," came the groggy reply. "Fire control is down but there is no sign of the enemy. We appear to have jumped clear."

Greta sank slowly into her command chair. _My ship is dead in space. It is a miracle we have life support but at least the threat is gone… for now._

"Star Captain, I have a fix on our location. I…. I do not understand. We are still in the Tanis system, Sir, but…"

"Spit it out, crewman!" Greta was not in the mood for indecision.

"Sir, the stars are different. I mean, their positions are the same but there are slight variations in their relative coordinates."

"You are telling me that we have not moved but the stars have, quiaff?"

"Aff, Star Captain. I am.'

"That makes no sense," Greta growled. She switched her head set comm to a security channel. "Point Commander Yula?"

" _Here, Star Captain._ "

"What is your status?"

Yula did not sound the least bit affected by the recent incident. " _We are fine, Star Captain. The Dalek appears to have… shut down._ "

 _At last, some good news._ "Good. Get it to an airlock, eject it and then destroy it. See to it personally."

" _Aff, Star Captain._ " Yula's reply contained a tone that indicated she would relish this task.

Switching her comm unit off again, Greta addressed the bridge crew.

"I want a full report on the status of all ship systems in one hour. Under the circumstances we cannot remain here and must assume our away team was lost in the explosion on the lunar surface. Helm, engage the inter-system drive and get us back to Alexandra. From there find out if there are any La Grange points we can initiate a jump from. I want us out of here as soon as possible. I will be in my ready room. Star Commander Otto, you have the bridge."

A chorus of acknowledgements came back and her crew got to work analysing system problems and organising work teams to get the _Corvidae_ back to full operation.

Alone, in the silence of her ready room, Greta had fallen asleep. She was woken by the sound of her door chime. Checking her wristwatch she realised that she had been asleep for a little over thirty minutes. A wave of guilt swept over her at sleeping while her crew were hard at work.

"Door open," she commanded.

Otto stepped into the room and the door slid silently shut behind him.

"I am sorry to disturb you, Star Captain, but I thought you might want to look at this." He handed some papers to Greta which included images of a healthy world roughly three quarters covered in water.

Greta rubbed her eyes wearily. "What am I looking at here, Otto?"

"These are images of Alexandra taken just a few minutes ago," Otto replied.

Greta looked up at her Executive Officer with a look of incredulity on her face.

"That is not possible. We passed Alexandra… it was a ruin. How…." She stumbled, lost for words.

Otto sat in the empty chair in front of Greta's desk. "In an old Terran story there is a saying that goes; when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

Greta studied the data Otto had handed her, intrigued. "Explain," she asked.

"Simply put, Alexandra could not have recovered in the time we were stationed at the moon, therefore one of two possibilities remain. Either significant time has elapsed to allow Alexandra to recover, though it is doubtful that the planet _could_ recover, or we are looking at Alexandra _before_ it was destroyed."

Greta leaned back in her chair, pondering Otto's words. "The Dalek said something before the blackout… emergency temporal shift… temporal. Could it have used the energy from our jump core to move us in time? Even saying that sounds ridiculous."

Otto stared intently at his commanding officer. "Whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

Greta dropped the paper and rubbed her face with her hands. "This is insane. I am a Star Captain, Otto, I should not even have command of a WarShip yet. Now you try to tell me that I am the Captain of a _time travelling_ WarShip?"

Otto smiled, dropping a little of his formality. "Greta, Khan McKenna gave you this command because you were the most qualified out of all the survivors of the Fall. I happen to think you are also the most capable. I know this sounds like something out of a Spheroid holovid but it is the only possible explanation left to us. This is beyond anything in our experience but I believe that you can get us through this."

"How?" Greta asked incredulously. "Let us suppose that you are right and we have, somehow, travelled in time. How do I _get us through this_? How do I get us back?"

"I do not know, Greta. That is why I am not in command." Otto smirked a little.

Greta threw her head back then and laughed which caught Otto completely by surprise. "Oh, Otto, as much as I appreciate your faith in me I think you are a fool. It is lucky for you that you are good at your job. We will figure this out together but the first thing we need to learn is exactly _when_ we are."

Otto's smile returned, larger than before. "Once I received this data I requested that an analysis be made of the star variations. We know, very roughly, how much their relative positions change over time so we can extrapolate that back and establish an approximate time frame. I gave the bridge crew fifteen minutes to figure it out."

Greta laughed again, quieter this time. "They have had ample time then. Let us see how good our crew really is."

Greta and Otto both stood and headed out the door to the bridge.

"Captain on the bridge!" the yeoman on deck called.

The bridge crew had been gathered around a small table near the holotank and when Greta and Otto entered they stood sharply to attention.

"As you were," Greta offered and they all visibly relaxed. "Star Commander Otto has filled me in on your task. So, what do you have for me?"

Deirdre stepped forward. "Star Captain, I have run a star data extrapolation routine as far back as we have records for and re-ran them to be sure. All results indicate that we have jumped back approximately two hundred and thirty years, Sir."

Greta stood with her mouth slightly agape. She had been expecting a number far smaller. _Two hundred and thirty years?!_ Her mind just couldn't wrap itself around the concept yet. There was an extremely uncomfortable silence on the bridge while everyone waited for someone to speak.

Greta composed herself and finally broke the silence. "Ok…well done. Thank you. Otto, what is our current status?"

"The KF drive has recently been restored and is charging. Our batteries are at eighty percent. We are approximately an hour from having fire control restored and all other ship-wide systems are nominal." Otto spoke the words with pride.

"Outstanding, Star Commander. Has there been any word from Yula?"

"None," Otto remarked.

Greta frowned. "Strange." She donned her head set comm and opened the security channel. "Bridge to Point Commander Yula." The only reply was a faint hiss of static. "Yula, come in please." Still nothing. "Damn it! Security, get to the nearest airlock to the omicron power relay!"

A response came from one of the many marines on-board _Corvidae_.

Greta turned to her bridge crew. "Make preparations for jump. I want us at Arcadia the minute we have the charge."

"Aye, Sir," came Deirdre's reply.

She turned back to Otto and lowered her voice. "If that thing is still aboard my ship God knows what damage it could do. If it is not, then the consequences could be even worse."


	7. Chapter 7

_**York Class Destroyer CSR Corvidae**_

 _ **Pirate Jump Point, Arcadia**_

 _ **Pentagon Worlds**_

The _Corvidae_ had flashed into existence at a jump point very near to Arcadia IV and had immediately started a burn towards Arcadia I. As they drew close to the world, Greta had assembled her senior crew at the holotank to formulate a plan of approach.

"I have brought you together so as to plot our action when we approach Arcadia Prime. We know the Dalek jumped ship back at Alexandra and fled the system. Everything we know so far points to Huntress as the Daleks target. We must focus on a plan to eliminate that threat before it gets a foothold on that world, but first we need to resupply. " Her team listened attentively as she continued. "We have a distinct advantage here. We know the history of the Pentagon worlds, we know when they were settled, when the second Exodus occurred and when these worlds were retaken by the Clans. Our initial scan of Arcadia has indicated the presence of two ships in high orbit. The closer ship has the profile of a _Texas_ class and we believe this to be the _Perth_. The _Perth_ was in the hands of the spacefarers prior to Klondike, after which it was moved to Dagda, then to the Kerensky Cluster to be decommissioned. The fact that the _Perth_ is here, now, tells us that we have arrived sometime before Klondike takes place."

Greta noticed Deirdre raise a hand. "Yes, you have a question?"

"More an observation, Star Captain," Deirdre responded. "I studied the naval engagements of Klondike extensively during my training. If that is the _Perth,_ then the other ship is the _Admiral Schone_ , a _Riga_ class destroyer. The _Schone_ feigned surrender when the Clans arrived only to open fire upon them when their guard was down. The _Perth_ was little more than a floating wreck. Most of its weapons were non-functional."

"I see. I am glad you learned your history so well, Deirdre. It will be invaluable to us." Deirdre smiled at the compliment as Greta continued. "We will not repeat the mistakes of the past. We will make a high-g burn directly for the _Admiral Schone_ and engage it directly. They out-gun us slightly but we have, by far, the better crew and that will make all the difference. They will be unprepared for a direct assault, which should give us the upper hand."

Walter, the _Corvidae's_ tactical officer, raised his hand next. At a nod from Greta he spoke. "Will we issue a batchall, Star Captain?"

It was a worthy question and one that deserved a good answer. "We will not." Surprise crossed the faces of many of the crewmembers. "These people are practically pirates. You heard Deirdre explain what they did. They do not deserve to receive our Clan honour."

Walter spoke again. "But they have not done it yet, Star Captain."

Confusion crossed Greta's face for a fraction of a second before she reasserted herself. "From our perspective they have, and they will again. My decision stands. There will be no batchall."

"Aye, sir." Walter conceded, slightly abashed.

"Once we've dealt with the destroyer, the _Perth_ shouldn't give us any trouble. Is everyone clear?" When every crewman replied affirmatively she continued. "Good, then sound battle stations and get this done. Helm, I want us to drive in towards their bow then execute a high-g turn to bring our starboard broadside to bear on their nose, understood?"

"Aye, sir!" came the crisp response.

"Tactical, stand by to engage on my command."

As Arcadia grew larger on the view screen, the small red blip that was the _Admiral Schone_ began to move away from the planet towards the _Corvidae_.

The comms officer called out. "They are hailing us, Star Captain, and issuing a demand for us to power down and prepare to surrender."

"Tactical, are we in weapons range?" Greta asked.

"Just, Star Captain. If we drive into our port-side turn now, between our forward inertia and the _Schone's_ advance we will have a solid lock."

Greta smiled. "Excellent! Helm, prepare for a sudden turn to port on my command." Greta opened a ship-wide comm feed. "All hands, prepare for high-g manoeuvres. Weapons free on my word… All DropShips, prepare to launch on my turn command."

"Aye, sir!" came the response from Star Commander Otto. He had been placed in command of the landing party that would drop to Arcadia for supplies.

"Ready… execute sixty five degree port turn… now!"

With the speed and precision that made the Snow Raven Naval Reserve some of the best in Clan space, the _Corvidae's_ crew executed a tight turn that brought the ship's starboard batteries perfectly into line with the advancing _Riga_.

"Starboard weapons, fire!" Greta commanded.

The crew of the _Admiral Schone_ were obviously surprised by the sudden combat turn of the _Corvidae_ as their sluggish response to turn their own broadside to bear testified. The space between the two WarShips came alive with capital fire from the _Corvidae's_ lasers and cannons. The lasers, first to their target, slagged armour from the _Riga's_ forward section, burning and scoring the bow of the destroyer. The massive shells of the _Corvidae's_ cannons followed mere seconds later, smashing into and through the weakened forward armour of the _Schone_ and tracing lines of destruction down its forward starboard side.

From the bridge of the _Corvidae_ , Greta and her crew could see the _Admiral Schone_ venting air from multiple wounds in the forward hull, but the _Riga's_ turn continued inexorably until its own starboard weapons came to bear on the _Corvidae_.

"Helm! Ahead full! Get us out of her broadside! Tactical, weapons free. Fire at will!" Greta's commands snapped out and her crew instantly responded, illuminating the space between the vessels with a hail of fire and pushing everyone back into their seats as the ship surged forward on maximum thrusters.

Greta sensed that they wouldn't make it out of the _Schone's_ first volley so opted instead to try and minimise the damage across her ship.

"Helm, roll one hundred eighty degrees on my mark…" Greta waited just a second until she saw the muzzle flashes of the _Schone's_ weapons. _You are slow and sloppy_ , she thought of the _Schone's_ crew. "Mark!"

The first hits began impacting the starboard side of the _Corvidae_ just as she initiated her roll. The precision of Greta's timing spread the damage out around the hull of the _Corvidae_ , preventing any hull breaches and bringing her ships fresh port-side to bear on their enemy.

"All port weapons fire when you have a lock!" Greta ordered.

The _Schone's_ crew were trying to compensate for the _Corvidae's_ sudden acceleration into their aft weapons arc but failed miserably. The _Riga's_ massive engines glared ineffectually at the Snow Raven ship as the _Corvidae_ fired a full broadside into the _Schone's_ aft section. The gigantic thrusters crumpled under the assault and their fire sputtered and died as lasers and cannons tore into and through the vulnerable engine mounts and into the ship. Secondary explosions signalled the death of reactors and sent the _Admiral Schone_ on a slow flat spin away from their assailants.

"Helm, slow us to all ahead half."

Greta opened a channel that would allow her to speak to the entire crew and that of the two DropShips that had launched as they went into combat.

"Well done to you all. The _Admiral Schone_ is crippled and on a slow drift away from our position. We will continue to chase them down and eliminate the threat to the _Corvidae_. Helm, get me a position on the _Perth_. Otto, get in and out as quick as you can. We need intel and supplies, nothing else."

"Understood, Star Captain. We are initiating our burn to the planet's surface."

Greta's Helmsman came back to her at that point. "Star Captain, we have the _Perth_. She is on an intercept course to our position."

Greta smiled. This is what she was born for and why Khan McKenna had placed her in command. "Then let us not disappoint them. Lay in a course to meet the _Perth_ , we will catch up with the _Admiral Schone_ in due course."


	8. Chapter 8

_**Union-C Class DropShip Dark Wings**_

 _ **20km west of Korban**_

 _ **Rechlan, Arcadia**_

 _ **Pentagon Worlds**_

The _Dark Wings_ had achieved orbital insertion over the northern polar region of Arcadia while the Titan Class _Blood Beak_ maintained a geosynchronous orbit over the polar land mass. It was both close enough to the _Dark Wings_ target landing zone and the least likely to be detected. Even so they'd had some close calls when two local flights of aerospace fighters appeared on the _Dark Wings_ radar. Fortunately the range of the Union's radar generally exceeded that of individual aerospace fighters so the ship was able to vector its flight away to avoid detection. They were under strict orders not to directly engage the locals unless absolutely necessary. They need supplies but didn't want to draw undue attention to themselves.

The _Dark Wings_ had continued on a low altitude flight across the continent of Rechlan, avoiding the known settlements. They had chosen Korban as their target because of the historical data they had on the City-State. The fact that it wasn't under the banner of any of the major Pentagon powers of this time was the primary factor in its selection. The second was that their military was weak even by the Snow Raven's small forces standards so, if conflict did ensue, the Clans losses would be minimal at worst.

Otto had decided to take two stars of OmniMechs and leave one star protecting the ship and their LZ. He hoped that the show of force approaching Korban would be enough to cow the locals. The _Blood Beak_ and her trinary of OmniFighters were standing by for a quick burn across Rechlan should things go awry.

The kilometres were quickly eaten up by the stride of Otto's 90 ton _Kingfisher_ OmniMech. With him was the remaining four Mechs of his Assault Star. His Pursuit Star, led by Star Commander Holson were well ahead of his position, scouting the terrain and the approaches to Korban.

At a constant run it took roughly thirty minutes to arrive at the outskirts of the City-State. Korban was not a city that could be easily defended. A line of low foothills to the west gave a panoramic view over the city while open plains to the North West granted easy access to the outlying suburbs. It was a wonder that Korban hadn't been subsumed into one of the larger powers on Arcadia.

Otto dismounted his Mech and stood at the left foot of his giant war machine as a hover APC approached their position. Brett Howe, his second in command, and Star Commander Holson, who had returned and formed ranks, stood flanking him while the remaining members of his two Stars waited in their machines a respectful distance back.

The APC slowed as it approached then stopped just a few meters away. The rear hatch cracked open and two people emerged, one woman and one man. They walked up to the waiting Clan trio and the woman stepped forward, extending her hand.

"Star Commander Otto," she asked of Clan commander, "I'm Councillor Verna Bron and this," she half turned and indicated the man beside her, "is my aide, Malcolm. I recognise you from your transmission. I must admit to being unfamiliar with your rank."

Otto returned the hand shake, smiling cordially. "It is a peculiarity of our… society, Councillor. I am very pleased that you agreed to meet with me."

Verna gazed briefly at the binary of Mechs gathered nearby. "Well, when an armed force approaches your city requesting an audience to trade, one must take notice. I've never seen the likes of these 'Mechs before," She noticed the Raven emblem on the jacket Otto had donned after leaving his Mech. "And I'm not familiar with your flag, Star Commander. Are you from the Republic?"

Otto knew that Verna was referring to the Dragon Republic far to the north and west of their position. The Republic was the strongest power on the Rechlan continent but its distance from Korban and the Republics natural isolationism meant that the people of Korban had very little interaction with them.

"No, Ma'am, we are not. We are newcomers here but have no intention of staying. We simply need supplies and we will then move on."

Verna squinted slightly as she tried to weigh up Otto and his words. "I see. Well, we may be able to trade. What do you have to offer and what exactly is it you want?"

Otto hoped his smile appeared disarming. "We require non-perishable foodstuffs, water and… well, the last is slightly unusual. We wish to know the date."

Confusion crossed Verna's face. "The date? Well, you can have that for free. It's the thirtieth of June."

"And…uh, the year?" Otto asked, looking slightly awkward.

Now Verna was truly confused and more than a little curious. "You don't know what year it is?"

"We have had some…problems on our ship, Councillor Bron. Our calendars are a little out."

Verna appeared sceptical of Otto's excuse. "And this caused you to forget what year it is? Alright, Otto, may I call you Otto?" At a nod from the man she continued. "I'll play your game. The year is 2821."

"Thank you, Verna." Otto replied, smiling still. In a heartbeat the smile vanished from his face. "The thirtieth of June, 2821?" His expression turned grim. "Savashri!"

Verna grew alarmed at his sudden change in demeanour. "Is there a problem?"

Otto quickly composed himself. "No. No, I apologise for my outburst. It simply was not what I expected to hear." He could see the confusion and suspicion on Verna's face so quickly changed the subject. "Councillor, we do not have a lot to offer but what we can give you is weapons."

Verna's expression turned sour. "Do you think we survived this long because of weapons? If we had a significant force someone, probably the Republic, would have taken notice of us long ago. If that's all you have to offer then I believe this conversation is over."

Verna hesitated a second then started to turn back towards the APC, shadowed by her Aide.

"Wait." She paused as Otto spoke then turned back to him. "What if I could give you something," he took a deep breath before continuing, "something that would save the lives of you and all your people?"

Verna's gaze hardened. "That sounds suspiciously like a threat."

Otto returned her gaze, just as fierce. "It is, but not a threat from us. This is not something to discuss here." He turned to Star Commander Holson. "Take your Star back to the Dark Wings and get in touch with the _Corvidae_. Explain the situation to Star Captain Lankenau." Holson snapped a salute and began to move away. Otto turned back to Verna. "Allow me and my Executive Officer to accompany you back to Korban, the rest of my Star will remain here. There we can talk."


	9. Chapter 9

_**Korban City-State**_

 _ **Rechlan, Arcadia**_

 _ **Pentagon Worlds**_

 _ **30 June, 2821**_

"Let me get this straight, you expect me to believe that you are from the future… more than two hundred years in the future and that the SLDF are going to return here in two days to reclaim this world?" Verna's expression and tone spoke of her incredulity at the idea.

They were sitting around a table made of Arcadian Russet in Verna's council office.

Otto sighed in frustration. "Aff… yes, though the SLDF call themselves the Clans now. Look, I know this is hard to believe. It is hard to say, but I have shown you my ID…"

"Faked," Verna interjected.

"…you have seen our Mechs. You said yourself you have never see their like. My Kingfisher is an OmniMech, they have not even been invented yet. I understand how this sounds and I also know that I should not be telling you this but this information could save every single man, woman and child in Korban so do not take my words lightly, however much you disbelieve them!"

Something in Otto's tone, his insistence that this preposterous story was true, made Verna pause.

"Supposing it _is_ true and your Clans are coming to retake Arcadia? What can we do about it?"

Otto looked at her intently. "Surrender without a fight. The people that will be coming to Korban, Clan Star Adder they call themselves, they are reasonable. If you accept them peacefully you will be treated well."

"And if we don't?" Verna asked.

"Then they will wipe your little city-state off the map and these last twenty years of building and surviving will have been for nothing."

Verna looked hopefully at Otto then. "You could fight with us. If you did that you could have all the supplies you need."

Otto shook his head. "The Clans will have the best part of four Clusters on the planet, two of which will head here and to Garrak, plus support elements. Even with the Steel Vipers and Blood Spirits elsewhere they would outnumber us at least four to one. We would simply die with you."

"If it's true." Verna added.

"It is true."

Verna took a deep breath then pushed herself away from the table and rose from her chair. "Then until it's confirmed you and Mr Howe will remain here as a guest of the Korban City-State.'  
Both Otto and Brett leapt from their chairs. "You cannot…"

Verna slammed a hand down on the table. "I can and I will, or would you prefer I call security?" The men visibly relaxed and Brett retook his seat after calming his anger. "Good. At this point in time you are not a prisoner, Star Commander, please don't give me cause to change that status. You will have a security detail attached to you for your safety but you are free to move around Korban as you wish. Please don't try to leave."

"My people will come looking for me," Otto spoke softly though there was still an edge of anger in his voice.

Verna smiled sincerely. "I'll despatch a messenger to inform them that you're staying in Korban until after the attack. In the meantime we'll arrange quarters and clothing for you."

"Very well," said Otto resignedly. "We will do this your way but if the Star Adders find us here it will cause you more trouble than you can handle."

Verna smiled reassuringly. "Then we'd better make sure they don't find you here, hadn't we?"


	10. Chapter 10

_**York Class Destroyer CSR Corvidae**_

 _ **High Orbit**_

 _ **Arcadia**_

 _ **30 June 2821**_

"Say again, Star Commander?" Greta's mind struggled with the words she heard.

" _Date confirmed, Star Captain. It is the thirtieth of June, twenty eight twenty one_ ," came Holson's reply.

"Thank you, Star Commander. Continue with the plan and await Star Commander Otto's instructions."

" _Aff, Star Captain,_ " then Holson clicked off the channel.

Greta stared at the viewscreen displaying the burning hulk of the _Perth_. She felt a sadness inside her as the majestic Texas class battleship continued its uncontrolled burn away from Arcadia. Though the massive WarShip's weapons were in a poor state, she had still managed to inflict serious damage on the _Corvidae_. Numerous hull breaches along the York's port broadside had been sealed by Harjel but not before several crewmen had lost their lives to the vacuum of space.

The hull of the Texas had been tough to crack but the _Corvidae's_ weapons finally found their target and shattered the _Perth's_ bridge. Without the benefit of Harjel the _Perth's_ bridge crew, those that survived the weapon barrage, were ejected into space. With no bridge crew or controls the battleship's engines propelled it on a locked course away from Arcadia. It would pass close to Liny, Arcadia's moon, but would fly past it and on into the depths of the Arcadia system.

Greta felt for the crew and the fate they would face but she couldn't afford to follow them and grant them a warrior's death. The _Admiral Schone_ was still out there and, though crippled, she was not certain that they couldn't bring it back under control. The _Schone_ remained a threat that had to be dealt with.

On top of that she now knew that they were a mere two days away from facing the ships of four Clans when they came to reclaim the Pentagon Worlds. She could neither face them in a fight nor explain to them the _Corvidae's_ existence here. The York class wouldn't exist for another hundred and twenty six years. How was she supposed to explain that?

She looked again at the path that the _Perth_ was plying. "Here is what will happen, people. I want to take up a position behind Liny. We know that, after their initial jumps, the Clan fleet uses a pirate point near Arcadia. That should be between Acadia and Liny. They will be looking to Arcadia and the ships that defend it. They may be curious about the disappearance of the _Perth_ but when they see the _Schone_ they will target that. They will not be looking towards Liny."

"We are going to hide?" Walter asked with a tone that implied he disagreed with Greta's decision.

"Aff, Crewman, we are going to hide. Or would you prefer to face four Clan WarShips and their compliment of assault ships?"

"Neg, Star Captain," Walter replied abashed.

"I thought not. You will not question my orders again, Crewman. Is that understood?"

Greta was normally a calm, reasonable commanding officer, one of the more relaxed in the Snow Raven fleet. Her tone now was as much of a warning as Walter needed.

"Aff, Star Captain. I apologise."

Greta inwardly sighed. The question was not uncalled for. Under normal circumstances hiding would never be considered. Her crew had to understand, however, that this was far from normal circumstances.

"Listen to me, all of you. Our actions may seem unClanlike but you all need to be aware that we are way out of our depth here. What do you think would happen if the Clan fleet engaged us?"

"We would be destroyed," Deirdre responded.

"Yes, but more than that. We would have to fight back and we have no idea what effect that might have on the assault of Arcadia. What if our actions directly lead to the Pentagon Powers defeating the Clans on Arcadia? How would that affect us?"

Dierdre offered a hesitant answer again. "I do not know, Star Captain."

"Exactly. We could be instrumental in changing our own future and I do not know what would happen to us. I do not hide because I want to. I hide because we have to, for our own sakes. Does everybody understand?" A series of affirmatives came from her crew. "Good. You have your orders. I will be in my ready room. Dierdre, you have the bridge."


	11. Chapter 11

_**Liny**_

 _ **Arcadia System**_

 _ **Pentagon Worlds**_

 _ **2 July, 2821**_

The _Corvidae_ had been on silent running for the last twenty four hours as it sat at a point behind Arcadia's moon. Only passive sensors were engaged and they had settled themselves at a point that required the least use of their manoeuvring thrusters to maintain their position

Greta sat in the Captain's chair watching her crew intently, waiting for that first indication that the Klondike forces were inbound. The red glow of the lighting made the lights and displays of the many bridge consoles glow brightly. When combined with the silence that pervaded the bridge it made for an eerie atmosphere.

Greta's tactical officer, Walter, broke the silence. "Star Captain, we have two emergence signatures. They are just beyond Arcadia's orbital plane."

It was happening. Greta was witnessing history being made and the thought of it excited her beyond anything she would have imagined. "Acknowledged, tactical. Helm, keep us in Liny's shadow."

"Aff, Star Captain," came the response from her helmsman.

"Any minute now…" Great whispered.

"Two more signatures, Sir!" Walter exclaimed.

 _There they are_ , thought Greta.

"They're behind us, Sir!"

Confusion suddenly reigned. "What? How?"

"I do not know, Star Captain."

The watch officer on communications spoke up then. "Star Captain, we are being hailed by one of the ships."

Greta calmed herself. "Broadcast to the bridge only, comms."

The audio transmission came through clear and strong to the bridge of the _Corvidae_. " _I am Star Commodore Nolan of Clan Star Adder. Identify yourselves and prepared to be boarded._ "

 _Damn it_ , Greta thought to herself, _there is no way we can fight off both ships and they will learn the truth of who we are as soon as they have visual. Honesty, Greta, always honesty._

She spoke confidently and clearly in response. "I am Star Captain Greta Lankenau of Clan Snow Raven. You have no authority to board our vessel."

Nolan's reply came back equally clear but there was a different tone to his voice now. He was clearly confused. " _You are kin to Yin Lankenau? Why are you in this system? Clan Snow Raven has been assigned to Circe._ "

"I am aware of that, Star Commodore, but I am not at liberty to divulge our reason for being here. Let it be enough to say that it is for the protection of the ilKhan."

" _No, Star Captain, that will not suffice. If there is a threat to ilKhan Kerensky then we must know about it so that Khan LeFabre can be informed. You will manoeuvre your vessel to the coordinates I am transmitting. You will then transfer to my vessel so we can discuss this matter further. Failure to comply will be treated as an act of hostility."_

Greta sighed in resignation. "As you wish, Star Commodore."


	12. Chapter 12

_**8 kilometres south of Korban City-State**_

 _ **Rechlan, Arcadia**_

 _ **Pentagon Worlds**_

 _ **2 July, 2821**_

Devon LeFabre sat in the command chair of his 85 ton _Crockett_ thinking back over the bizarre series of events that had lead him to the Rechlan continent far ahead of schedule. It would have been unbelievable were it not for the evidence that had been presented to him.

The first anomaly was their ship. They had called it a York class destroyer. No such classification of vessel existed in either the Star League or Clan databanks. The second, very convincing, piece of evidence was presented in their hulking marines. They called them Elementals and the armor they wore was truly awe inspiring. Lastly was the battle footage they had seen. The thing that Star Captain Lankenau had described as a Dalek looked so utterly alien – in a universe where mankind had thought for so long to be alone – that Khan LaFabre struggled to wrap his head around it. And all this came wrapped in her claim to be from the future. It sounded preposterous but the evidence was all there.

When he was then told that these future Snow Ravens had forces on the ground on Rechlan, Khan LaFabre had immediately revised his plan. Greta had argued against it, stating that any change now could affect the future, to which Devon replied that the Dalek would have a far more immediate effect than a minor delay in reclaiming the Pentagon worlds.

Greta could not argue with his logic so Devon had set about contacting Khan Stephan McKenna of the Snow Ravens and then the ilKhan himself, Nicholas Kerensky. Greta felt a shiver run down her spine at the thought of this man speaking directly to their founder, the Father of the Clans.

The decision was made quickly. Khan LaFabre was to escort the _Corvidae_ to a meeting point where Khan McKenna and Nicholas himself would meet with them. Greta had been granted permission to contact her ground forces then only to find that Otto and Brett were being held by the Korban government.

Devon remembered clearly the words he had spoken then. "Well, Star Captain, we may be mixing up the order a little but it looks like history will be maintained.

" _Adder alpha, this is charlie two. We are picking up contacts at one o'clock, three clicks out._ "

Adder alpha was LeFabre's call sign. He activated his chin mic. "This is Adder alpha. Report identification, bravo two."

There was a moment's pause. " _Adder alpha, we have a negative on ID. Warbook is indeterminate. I can confirm that contacts are Mechs, sir. There are five of them._ "

 _Indeterminate. Everything about this accursed Operation is indeterminate_ , thought Lefabre. He activate his mic.

"Those must be the Snow Ravens. All points form up on me. Keep your sensors at maximum sweep and watch for surprises."

He throttled his _Crockett_ up to a full run and began chewing up the distance to their target. At one and half kilometres distance Lefabre opened a channel on the frequency the Star Captain had given to him.

"Attention Snow Raven force. His is Khan Devon LeFabre of Clan Star Adder. This frequency has been given to us by your Star Captain, Greta Lankenau. Hold you fire, we come in peace."

The line crackled for a few long seconds before the reply came.

" _This is Star Commander Holson of the 14_ _th_ _Raven Battle Cluster. We acknowledge and will hold fire."_

 _That's a good start,_ Devon thought as his star sped towards the awaiting Snow Ravens. As they drew closer he noticed he was still the subject of a target lock. It took only a couple of minutes to reach the coordinates. Devon powered down his _Crockett_ and deployed the boarding ladder before climbing down to meet the Snow Raven warriors.

As he turned to face the man who stood near the feet of his 'Mech he was surprised to receive a salute. He promptly returned it. "Star Commander Holson, I presume?"

"Aff, Khan LeFabre," he responded. His voice contained a hint of nervous excitement. "Forgive me, Sir. I am a student of history and read a great deal about you and your part in Klondike."

Devon winced a little. "History… yes. Knowing that, to you, I've been dead for centuries is a difficult prospect to understand."

Holson smiled. "If it is any consolation, Khan LeFabre, your name and those of the other founding Khans are still revered even among other Clans."

"Thank you, Star Commander," Devon replied politely. "On to other matters. I understand that members of your Clan are currently being held in Korban?"

"Aff…" Holson noticed a confused look on Devon's face. "That is correct, Khan LeFabre. We have been forbidden from interfering in the events of the Operation so cannot liberate them ourselves."

"That is why I am here, Star Commander," he cast his eyes over the Snow Raven war machines parked nearby, "though a couple of your Mechs would make the job a great deal easier."

"With all due respect, Khan LeFabre, these are Snow Raven property. I cannot relinquish them without my Commanding Officers permission or without a Trial of Possession taking place."

"Hmmm, for another time then," Devon replied. "You are to board your transport and rendezvous with your ship, Star Commander. We will return with your Clansmen in good time."

Holson threw Devon another salute. "Aff, Khan LeFabre."

Devon watched as Holson spun on his heel and addressed his star. "Mount up, people. We are heading back to the _Dark Wings_ and on to the _Corvidae_." A series of affirmations followed his orders.

Devon studied the group of warriors closely. _I could do with troops like these_ , he thought to himself.


End file.
